HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Notre Dame clinches Colonial Division

PRINCETON — Regardless of what happens at the state level, Notre Dame will haveanother title to match with its MCT crown.

They made sure of that Tuesday afternoon. By beating Princeton 7-3 atValley Road Field, the Irish clinched a share of the CVC’s ColonialDivision, tying longtime rival Steinert.

Coach Joe Drulis summed up the accomplishment nicely.“Two titles in one year is a great thing.”

The game against the Little Tigers wasn’t quite as comfortable as thefinal scoreline indicates. Notre Dame struggled to generate muchoffense off of Princeton starter Ben Gross, who racked up ninestrikeouts on the day.

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Fortunately for Drulis and company, Irish starter Enzo Esposito — whoalso got the win in the MCT title game against WestWindsor-Plainsboro-South — was even more effective.

“Ben Gross matched us pitch for pitch,” Drulis said. “He pitched agreat game as well and didn’t deserve the loss, but Enzo just pitcheda little better.”

In five innings of work, Esposito gave up just two hits and a runwhile also punching out nine.

“Coach told me I was throwing, so I was just excited to take the ball,” he said.His coach certainly was impressed.

“He looked great,” Drulis said. “He pounded the strike zone and gotahead in the count a lot. He had a second-and-third situation with oneout, and got out of it. He just keeps getting better and better.”

After Mike Milazzo and Matt Keeney knocked RBI doubles in the fourthand fifth innings, respectively, the wheels came off for the LittleTigers in the sixth. Princeton committed three errors in the frame,allowing Notre Dame’s Matt Camera and Jamie Galazin both to pick uptwo RBIs on weakly hit balls.

“Baseball’s an unfair game at times,” Drulis said. “Sometimes you hita rope that’s right at a guy, and sometimes you hit a blooper thatlooks like a line drive in the box score. We put the ball in play, andwhen you do that you have a chance to make things happen.”

Steve Brown threw the final two innings for the Irish, giving up apair of runs, but it was too little, too late for the Little Tigers.

With two of its goals out of the way, Notre Dame can now focus on itsthird — the Non-Public South A tournament. Though the Irish were onlyawarded an eighth seed despite being 17-3 at the time of the seeding,it’s clear they feel like they are a dangerous team.

About the Author

Former Trentonian sportswriter and utility man. New York Jets, Princeton basketball, Mercer/Bucks county high schools, Trenton Thunder. Tulane grad. Former Times-Picayune and NFL.com intern. Reach the author at nperuffo@trentonian.com
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